The gate slammed shut behind me with a loud, echoing clang that shook the very air around me. I stumbled forward from the force of the push, my hands instinctively going up to steady myself. The smell hit me harder now—rotted flesh, stale blood, and something else... something broken. I lifted my head slowly and my eyes met the princess's.
She was nothing like the radiant, terrifying figure I remembered. No longer draped in the velvet and silks of power, she was chained to the wall with shackles that glowed with an eerie, faint blue light. Her once immaculate dress was now in tatters, stained with blood and dirt. Her face, once proud and untouchable, was now gaunt, her silver hair matted and tangled.
The werewolf—Mary, or whatever was left of her—stayed close behind me, emitting a soft growl as if sensing the wrongness in the air.
The princess lifted her head slowly. A weak smirk appeared on her cracked lips.
"So... they finally sent you back to finish me off?" she croaked, her voice like sandpaper scraping against stone.
I walked toward her carefully, wary of any traps, but nothing happened. There was no magic to stop me, no soldiers bursting in, no sudden strike. Just her. Helpless.
"I didn't come to kill you," I said, my voice hollow, almost foreign to my own ears. "I came to die."
She chuckled, a rasping, bitter sound. "You're late. Death lives here now, boy... You won't find it glorious."
I didn't answer. I merely sat on the cold ground in front of her, staring. Her chains rattled slightly as she shifted, clearly uncomfortable. For a while, there was only silence, broken occasionally by the werewolf's low growls and the distant clangs of weapons against stone.
"Why are you here, really?" she asked again after a long time. Her tone was softer now, almost... human.
I shrugged. "I lost everything. I have no reason to keep fighting. Maybe your slaves can tear me apart if I cause enough trouble."
She tilted her head slightly, curious. "And the wolf? It follows you... almost like a shadow."
"That's Mary," I said, my throat tightening around her name. "Or what's left of her. My powers... changed her after death. Or maybe just kept her soul tethered. I don't even know anymore. I'm not sure I care."
The princess closed her eyes for a moment, almost as if mourning something. When she opened them again, there was a flicker of something I hadn't seen before—regret?
"Do you know why I'm here, boy?" she asked, yanking slightly at the chains.
I shook my head.
"I rebelled," she said simply. "Against him."
"Who?"
"My father," she whispered. "The King of Monsters."
The words hung heavy in the air.
"I thought I could outsmart him... forge my own destiny. But no one escapes the will of the King." She laughed bitterly. "He found out about my little games with you humans... trying to create an army strong enough to challenge him. And this..." she lifted her chained wrists, "was my reward."
I frowned. This was bigger than I thought. Much bigger.
"I didn't come here for politics," I said coldly. "I just want death."
The princess's eyes sharpened. "Then why are you still alive?"
I stared at her, the question slicing through me like a blade. Why was I still breathing when everything I loved was gone? Why did my heart still thump inside my hollow chest? Why?
Maybe because I wasn't done yet.
I clenched my fists.
"I don't know," I muttered. "But if death won't come to me, I'll go find it myself."
The princess smirked again, but there was a new glint in her eyes—something dangerously close to hope.
"Or maybe," she said slowly, "you were spared because you're meant to finish what I couldn't."
I laughed humorlessly. "Finish what? A broken rebellion against a monster king?"
"Yes," she said simply.
I rose to my feet, my energy slowly gathering within me like a slow-burning fire. The blue flames in my veins simmered beneath my skin. The werewolf at my side growled low, as if sensing the shift in my mood.
"And what if I don't care about your rebellion?" I asked.
"Then die here," she said. "But if there's even a shred of vengeance left in you... if you truly want to destroy the ones who took everything from you... then help me."
Silence again.
My mind flashed back to Mary's smiling face, the way her hand used to fit perfectly in mine, the way she believed in me even when I didn't believe in myself. Then the image of her cold, lifeless body filled my vision, and a rage so fierce it nearly blinded me tore through my heart.
"I don't care about your war," I said finally. "But if your father is responsible for everything... if he created the goblins, if he made my master into whatever he is now... then I'll burn his whole damn kingdom down."
The princess's eyes shone brightly for the first time since I entered.
"Good," she whispered. "Good."
"But first," I said, stepping closer, "I need to free you."
She smiled grimly. "Easier said than done."
I extended my hand toward the chains. Blue flames licked around my fingers, wrapping them in pure energy. As soon as I touched the chains, a shockwave blasted out, sending me flying backward into the stone wall. I grunted as I hit the ground hard.
"These chains aren't normal," she said weakly. "They're forged from the bones of ancient gods... immune to most magic."
I stood up, coughing, my body aching.
"Most magic," I repeated thoughtfully.
The werewolf—Mary—stepped forward, sniffing the chains. Then, to my shock, she bit down on them. The chains hissed and sizzled where her fangs met the metal, and a small wisp of smoke curled into the air.
I stared, stunned.
"Her soul isn't bound by mortal rules," the princess said softly. "She may be the key."
I nodded slowly. "Then we do this together."
Hours passed—or maybe days. Time lost all meaning in that place.
The werewolf gnawed and clawed at the chains endlessly, and slowly, slowly, the magic in them began to fray. Cracks appeared, tiny at first but growing larger with each passing moment.
Meanwhile, I prepared myself. I trained in the blood-stained courtyard, battling the princess's monstrous guards one after another under the pretense of seeking death. I fought with reckless abandon, each blow sharpening my instincts, each wound fueling my rage. They admired my ferocity and believed me to be just another bloodthirsty human who had lost his mind. It was exactly what I wanted them to believe.
All the while, I planned. I gathered information. Learned which guards were loyal to the king, which ones secretly despised him. I learned about secret tunnels beneath the castle, hidden weapons caches, and forbidden spells etched into the stones.
Finally, one night, the last of the princess's chains shattered with a final, deafening crack.
She collapsed into my arms, weak but free.
"It's time," she whispered.
I looked at her, then at the werewolf by my side.
No more running. No more begging for death.
It was time to bring hell to those who deserved it.
I pulled the princess to her feet. "Lead the way."
She smiled—a real, fierce smile this time—and together, with Mary following behind us like a shadow of vengeance, we moved into the darkness.
The rebellion had begun.
And this time, it would be written in blood